A history of northeast Missouri, Vol. 2 pt 2, Part 18

Author: Williams, Walter, 1864- , ed
Publication date: 1913
Publisher: Chicago, New York, The Lewis publishing company
Number of Pages: 912

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Pleasant and Caroline (Scholl) Arnold were married about July, 1843, the Arnold family residing on a farm adjoining that of the Scholls' and the two Arnold brothers marrying the two Scholl sisters. Pleasant

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Arnold had gone to Portland as a boy, and there secured a position carry- ing mail to Portland, but subsequently began to clerk in a general store, and soon entered business at Portland, one of his sons, Taylor Arnold, being named in honor of Taylor Blow, a St. Louis merchant. About 1855 Mr. Arnold disposed of his interests at Portland, and purchased a tract of land where Taylor Arnold now resides, only about one and one-half miles distant, and was also engaged in operating a store at Williamsburg. His death occurred August 1, 1864, when still less than forty-three years of age, having been born September 15, 1821. He had a family of eight children, all of whom reached maturity : Taylor, who is engaged in extensive farming operations near Williamsburg; Sarah Ellen, who married James A. Simpson, and died in 1889, at Montgomery City; Giles Jones, who died on his thirtieth birthday, a member of the firm of Arnold Brothers, at Williamsburg; William, twin to Emma, in business at Williamsburg, where he still resides; Emily Ann, who mar- ried Henry Covington, of Valley Center, Kansas; Mary Belle, who mar- ried J. F. (Dick) Smith, of Fulton ; John. Pleasant; and Nettie C., who married J. Timon Peters, cashier of the Bank of Williamsburg.

John Pleasant Arnold remained at home with his mother and brother, Taylor, until reaching his majority, and in 1883 came to his present farm, in the meantime also retaining an interest in the mercantile firm of Arnold Brothers of Williamsburg. For one year he was in partner- ship with H. W. Covington, under the firm style of Arnold & Covington, and for a like period he continued with Arnold Brothers, but after that began to give his entire cultivation to the operation of his 243-acre tract of land, which has become famous throughout the country as the Nine Mile Stock Farm. His operations have been restricted almost wholly to the breeding of harness and saddle horses, about ten colts annually being bred. In 1901 was foaled the champion harness horse of the world, "Nala," stallion, which was trained as a harness horse by Mr. Arnold, which won all local honors, and stood at the head of his stable for years, but is now owned by J. W. Harriman, brother of E. H. Harri- man, of New York, and stands at the head of his breeding farm at Avon- dale, Massachusetts. This magnificent animal has won highest honors at the world's great horse shows, at Madison Square, at Chicago, Louisville and Newport. Until 1891 the head of Mr. Arnold's stable was "Forest Bird," 2:241/4, also a blue ribbon winner, and at this time a saddle horse. a three-year old stallion, is at the head of the stable, "Golden Chester," a Kentucky-bred animal. A promising two-year-old is "Sultan," from which great things are expected. Mr. Arnold has his own track on his property, and nearly always has valuable animals for sale. His reputa- tion as a breeder has extended far beyond the limits of his native state, and no one is considered a better judge of horse-flesh. Almost his entire active career has been devoted to his present business, and the fact that his operations have always been of a strictly legitimate nature has given him standing with horsemen all over the country. In his native county he is regarded as an excellent business man and a progressive citizen, while his personality is such that he has gathered about him a wide circle of sincere friends.

In 1884 Mr. Arnold was married to Dora B. Harrison, daughter of Samuel P. Harrison, now living retired at Mineola, but late one of Callaway county's leading farmers, and a brother of William Harrison. Mr. and Mrs. Arnold have one daughter: Caroline, who is the wife of S. M. Weeks, son of the late county judge and State Senator Weeks of Montgomery and Callaway counties.

SAMUEL P. HARRISON. The Missouri agriculturist, if he is enterpris- ing and energetic, is usually loath to transfer the control of his opera-

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tions to other hands, even when he has reached an age that men in other lines of industry would consider advanced years, but when he does finally relinquish his hold on active labor and retires to a residence in the city, he makes one of the most solid, substantial citizens of his new com- munity, and as such is a welcome addition. The oldest member of his family now living, Samuel P. Harrison spent a long and active life in agricultural pursuits, but for the past several years has been living retired in Mineola. He is a native of Callaway county, Missouri, and was born November 29, 1829, near Auxvasse, a son of Thomas and Sally (Potts) Harrison, and nephew of the noted Major John Harrison. Educated in the district schools and the University of Missouri and reared to agricultural pursuits, when still in young manhood, in 1850, he crossed the plains to California in search of gold, and there spent some years in company with John Peters of Williamsburg, who was also a member of the same company in the state troops during the Civil war. Returning to Callaway county, he began operations on the land now occupied by Jack Harrison, three miles east of Auxvasse, but in September, 1869, sold his land and removed to the French homestead, four and one-half miles northwest of Williamsburg, he owning a section of the 800-acre tract. There Mr. Harrison continued to be engaged in farming and stock raising for a number of years, living in the home built by his wife's father in 1830, but in 1911 retired from activities, and since that time has lived quietly at Mineola.

In 1859 Mr. Harrison was married to Lucy J. French, born in Calla- way county, Missouri, four miles northwest of Williamsburg, in 1838, daughter of John and Isabella (Dillard) French. She died in 1891, having been the mother of eight children, as follows: Dora B., wife of John Arnold; Emma Price, the wife of B. R. Crane, of Mineola; Milton F., a farmer in Audrain county; Victor H., engaged in farming near Bachelor, Callaway county; Albert Y., who lives in Montgomery City ; W. P., of Williamsburg; L. A., carrying on operations on the old home- stead since the retirement of his father; and Lutie, who is the wife of C. C. Woodland, on a tract located near the old home.

Mr. Harrison is a Democrat in his political views, but has held no public offices, although he has been active in his support of his party's policies and candidates, and his brother, William, served as county judge and as representative in the Missouri state legislature. Since he was twenty-seven years of age he has been a member of the Masonic frater- nity, taking a great deal of enjoyment out of fraternal work, and being popular with the members of his lodge. He is a stockholder in the National Bank of Fulton, Missouri, and has interested himself in various enterprises of a financial and industrial nature. The oldest representa- tive of his line of an old and honored family, he has served to keep alive its traditions and to maintain its reputation for integrity and honorable dealing, and as one who has been closely identified with the history of his native state he is held in high regard by all who have come into contact with him.

JOHN H. WEEKS, whose long and honorable carcer is eminently worthy of extended mention in a work of this nature, has for years been con- spicuous as one of northeastern Missouri's farmers and stock raisers. Few citizens now living in Callaway county have been for so long a time residents of this section, or more prominently connected with its agri- cultural interests, or with its social and commercial welfare. Coming to the state in young manhood, and commencing his career without capital or influential friends, he has prosecuted his activities to such good advantages, that from the humble position of farm laborer, he has

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become one of his locality's heaviest tax-payers, the owner of 1160 acres of well-cultivated land, and a citizen who merits and holds the entire con- fidence and esteem of the people of his community. Mr. Weeks was born May 19, 1834, in Bedford county, Virginia, and is a son of Thomas and Nancy (Hudnall) Weeks.

From the Old Dominion state, the Weeks family made removal to the state of North Carolina when John H. Weeks was still a youth, and in 1852 started overland with a two-horse team, traveling by land until they reached Louisville, Kentucky. There they took passage on a boat as deck passengers, as far as St. Louis, in which city they arrived in the middle of December. It was their intention to go to Daviess county, but on reaching Montgomery county the family funds were exhausted, and the father and sons started to work as farm hands and working as wood choppers in the forest, while a cabin was rented for the mother and daughters. Thomas Weeks rented land in Montgomery and Callaway counties, and was engaged in farming until his death in the latter county about the year 1884, about three days after the death of his wife who, like himself, died of pneumonia.

John H. Weeks started to work as a farm hand at $11.00 per month, his wages being gradually increased until he was receiving from $160 to $175 per year, and by the time he was thirty-one years of age, so industrious and thrifty had he been, he had saved $600. This he invested in a tract of eighty acres of land, the nucleus of his present handsome property. When the Civil war broke out, he became a member of the state troops and served under General Price, but was subsequently forced into hiding to escape capture and imprisonment by the Federal authorities. In 1863 he was married to Mary D. Cobbs, who was born in Montgomery county, Missouri, and they settled in an old log school- house which he fitted up for a home on his rented land. Continuing his earnest and industrious efforts, Mr. Weeks soon purchased an additional eighty acres of land for $400, and his next eighty-acre tract, consisting of prairie land reaching to the timber, cost him $700, and he continued adding to his land from time to time, until he now owns 1,160 acres, for some of which he has paid as high as $30.00 per acre. His home is situated one mile east of Williamsburg, on the state highway, and its modern comforts and conveniences are in marked contrast to the simple necessities that graced his pioneer log cabin home. He has handled a variety of stock and various kinds of crops, and his ventures have been uniformly successful, his land all being operated by him until a few years ago, when he started to rent out a part of his property to tenants. Mr. Weeks has the shrewdness and good judgment typical of the successful farmer, and has made money by purchasing land on time at ten per cent interest, having had plenty of funds to back his enterprises. In the stock line he has done exceptionally well, his hogs bringing three cents per pound and his other stock and produce in proportion, and the output of his farm finds a ready sale in the large markets. With his children, he owns 1,900 acres of northeastern Missouri land. Politically, Mr. Weeks is a Democrat, but outside of a good citizen's interest in matters affecting his township, has shown little concern over affairs of a public nature.

Mr. and Mrs. Weeks have been the parents of three children: Stone- wall J., who is assisting his father in the management of the home place ; Samuel Houston, who operates land near the homestead; and Susan, who is the wife of A. T. Crump, also engaged in agricultural pursuits in Callaway. The members of this family are all widely and favorably known throughout this part of the state, where they have demonstrated their right to be classed among northeastern Missouri's most repre- sentative citizens.

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TAYLOR ARNOLD. Forced to take over the management of a great landed estate at a time when he was just entering manhood, Taylor Arnold, one of Callaway county's leading farmers and stock-growers, early displayed those characteristics which have marked his subsequent years, characteristics which have enabled him to gain and maintain a foremost position in a community where men of intelligence and ability are by no means lacking. Coming of a long line of agriculturists, and of a family noted for its perseverance, enterprise and integrity, he no doubt inherits much of his forefather's force of character and this he has used in the building up of an extensive private fortune and the developing of his native county's interests. Mr. Arnold was born in the city of Portland, Callaway county, Missouri, and is a son of Pleasant and Caroline (Scholl) Arnold.

The maternal grandparents of Mr. Arnold, John and Sina (Jones) Scholl, were born in Kentucky, and there were married in 1815. The latter was the daughter of Giles Jones, who was born in 1756 or 1757 near Cardiff, Wales. John was a son of Lovina Boone who was a sister of Daniel Boone. John and Sina Scholl came to the state of Missouri, being accompanied for three days by Mrs. Scholl's mother, who then turned back to the Kentucky home, and after a long and eventful journey they reached their destination in Callaway county and settled on a part of the present farm of Norman Davis, in 1824, at once commencing the cultivation of their land with their negro slaves. Several of Mrs. Scholl's most highly treasured possessions were several new counterpanes, or coverlets, for which she had raised the flax, and, these being unbleached, shortly after her arrival in the Missouri home, she hung them on some bushes some distance from the pioneer cabin home. That same night snow came, and the winter proved to be such a severe one that she was forced to wait until spring before she was able to secure her counterpanes. It must be apparent to all that the hardships of such a territory and a climate must have severely taxed the courage of the little emigrant family, but they bravely remained on, making a home for their children and continuing to develop their land during the remainder of their lives. Mr. Scholl passed away when he was eighty years of age, his wife having died some years before, and one son, John, reached maturity, inherited the old farm, and became the father of Mrs. Norman Davis, wife of the present owner of the land. Several of the pioneer relics, including the. old counterpanes before mentioned, are now in the possession of the great-granddaughter of John and Sina Scholl. The daughters of this couple were: Minerva, who married Herman Hayes and died in Cal- laway county at the age of ninety-four years; Matilda, who married James Love and died in Callaway county at the age of eighty years; Louisa, who was married in 1840, to William Arnold, and died in Calla- way county in 1895; Mary, who married Harrison Gregory, and died in New Florence, Missouri, in 1911, being past eighty years of age and the last survivor of the family; Caroline, who was born in Kentucky and accompanied her parents on the journey to Missouri; Emily, who mar- ried Robert M. Berry, of Williamsburg, and died in 1905; Isabel, who married John Gregory, and died in Mexico, Missouri.

Pleasant Arnold was born September 15, 1821, and about July, 1843, was married to Caroline Scholl, the Arnold family living on land adjoin- ing that owned by John Scholl, and the two Arnold brothers marrying Scholl sisters. Pleasant Arnold had gone to Portland as a boy, and there secured a position carrying mail to Fulton, but subsequently began to clerk in a general store and soon entered business on his own account. Taylor is named in honor of Taylor Blow, an early St. Louis merchant. About 1855 Mr. Arnold disposed of his interests at Portland, and pur-

CHARLES PLEASANT ARNOLD

THE TAYLOR-ARNOLD HOME ERECTED IN 1822

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chased a tract of land near where Taylor Arnold now resides, about one and one-half miles distant, and in addition to cultivating this property operated a general store at Williamsburg. He was thus successfully engaged at the time of his death, August 1, 1864, when he was still less than forty-three years of age. He had a family of eight children, all of whom grew to maturity : Taylor; Sarah Ellen, who married James A. Simpson, and died in 1889, at Montgomery City; Giles Jones, who died on his thirtieth birthday, was a member of the firm of Arnold Brothers, at Williamsburg; William, who still resides at Williamsburg; Emily Ann, who married Henry Covington, of Valley Center, Kansas; Mary Belle, who married J. F. (Dick) Smith, of Fulton, Missouri ; John Pleas- ant, who is proprietor of Nine Mile Stock Farm, near Williamsburg, and one of the leading harness and saddle horse breeders in the country ; and Nettie C., who married J. Timon Peters, cashier of the Bank of Williamsburg.

Taylor Arnold secured his education in the district schools in the neighborhood of the home farm, and was just entering manhood at the time of his father's death. Taking charge of the home property, he supported his mother and younger sisters and brothers until August 31, 1899, when the mother died. Mr. Arnold has engaged extensively in general farming and stock feeding, and has added to the home farm to such an extent that he now has 4,000 acres, all in one body, lying two miles north of Williamsburg. His residence is said to be the first frame house built in Callaway county, erected about 1822 by one McMurtry, and inherited by Mr. Arnold from his uncle, William Arnold, who had no children. Mr. Arnold gives his entire time to the operations on the home farm, and has cared neither for political nor fraternal life, although he is known as a good and public-spirited citizen and a willing supporter of all movements tending to advance the welfare of his community or

its citzens. The general appearance of his extensive property, its sub- stantial buildings, and its sleek, well-fed cattle, evidence the presence of able management and progressive industry, while the success which has attended Mr. Arnold's efforts demonstrates emphatically that he is the fortunate possessor of those abilities which enabled his ancestors to make this family one known throughout the state. Mr. Arnold's household duties are attended to in an able manner by his niece, Eulah Simpson.

ROBERT ARNOLD. A resident of Callaway county for more than three-quarters of a century, and engaged in agricultural pursuits here from earliest boyhood, Robert Arnold, of Nine Mile township, is one of his community's best known and most highly esteemed citizens, and as one who has been intimately connected with the history of northeastern Missouri is eminently worthy of having his record extensively mentioned in a work of this nature. By industry and honest toil he has prospered in life, achieving more than ordinary success in his field of activity, and now in his declining years he enjoys the esteem and confidence of his fellow townsmen to a high degree. Mr. Arnold was born on the hill where he now resides, four miles south of Williamsburg, thirteen and one-half miles north of Portland, and about eighteen miles (by road) east of Fulton, in Callaway county, Missouri, September 21, 1836, the youngest son of Robert and Pearcy (Hamlin) Arnold, the former a native of Fairfax county, Virginia, and the latter of Shelby county, Kentucky.

The father of Mr. Arnold came to St. Charles county, Missouri, as a young man, and there lost his first wife, who was Miss Manion. Later he was married to Pearcy Hamlin, and they came to Callaway county where their eldest son was born on the present farm of Robert Arnold, in February, 1828, although they had spent a short time on Loutre

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creek, in Montgomery county, some ten miles east of this farm, and removed therefrom on account of the unhealthy condition of the climate in the bottom lands. Here Mr. Arnold secured a much desired elevation, as well as a spring, which is still flowing and is the source of supply for the house, located one-quarter of a mile distant on a hill. This house, the materials for which had to be removed from ten to twelve miles, was first erected in 1840, was later added to, and in 1867 was remodeled by his son. Mr. Arnold put some 150 or 160 acres under cultivation, and also owned nearly 400 acres of hill and creek bottom land on Prairie Fork. Here Robert Arnold continued to carry on operations until his death, March 23, 1867, while his wife, Pearcy, passed away October 11, 1875. By his first wife he had two sons and a daughter: William, who died when past sixty years of age; Pleasant, who was a merchant at Portland and later at Williamsburg, and died at the age of forty-four years; and Nancy, who married Henry W. Covington and died when past seventy-five years of age. Six children were born to Robert and Pearcy (Hamlin) Arnold, namely: George, who was engaged in farming all of his life on Hancock's Prairie, near Reidsville, Callaway county, where he died at the age of eighty-four years; Bertha Ann, the wife of B. F. Covington, of Howell county, Missouri; John W., who spent his life in mercantile pursuits and died at Shamrock, Missouri, in January, 1895; Mary, who is the wife of J. R. Covington, living near Shamrock, in Calla- way county ; Robert; and Martha, who married Thomas Higginbotham, and both are deceased.

Robert Arnold received his education in the district schools in the vicinity of the home farm, and was reared to agricultural pursuits, and to traits of honesty, industry and thrift. At the call of Gov. Clark Jackson, in 1861, he enlisted in the six months' service in the Confed- erate army, under General Price, and his service expired at Lexington, where, under Colonel Mulligan, he surrendered. Returning home via Springfield, he was put under bonds to keep the peace, and subsequently visited Nebraska and Illinois. . When the war had closed, Mr. Arnold returned to the homestead, and continued to remain with his parents, caring for them in their declining years and managing operations on the home place. On the death of his parents, he inherited the Callaway county land, which he has continued to cultivate to the present time, although since 1904 his sons have done the greater part of the active labor. He carried on mixed farming, and for years bred some of the best high grade Short Horn stock ever produced in the county, keeping blooded animals and maintaining vast prairie and pasture lands. Mr. Arnold is a Democrat, but is no politician. While he is not connected with any particular religious denomination, he supports all movements of a religious, charitable or educational nature, and is known as a friend of morality and good citizenship.

In August, 1867, Mr. Arnold was married to Elvira J. Allen, daugh- ter of David Powell and Nancy (Courtney) Allen, natives of Kentucky, who came to Missouri at an early day, the old Allen homestead being situated three and one-half miles southwest of the old Arnold home. Three children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Arnold, namely : Celsus Price, named in honor of the son of General Price, who served on his father's staff, a farmer in Bollinger county, Missouri; Eglan Gertrude, . who married Hal B. Dyson, a member of the St. Louis police department ; and Robert Powell, who operates the home farm and one of his own near by in Callaway county.

ALFRED P. MATSON. Around no name in Northeast Missouri is gath- ered more valuable and interesting pioneer history than that of Matson.

A. P., Mation

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If true history is biography, in no better way could a graphic story of the beginnings and subsequent development of the country now included in Ralls and adjacent counties be told than through the careers of the Matsons, who have been intimately identified with this vicinity for nearly, a century.

Much of this interesting pioncer history has been told through the medium of the biography of Enoch G. Matson, on another page of this work. Alfred P. Matson, named above, is a son of the late Richard H. Matson, a brother of Enoch G. and a son of Enoch, the original pioneer, about whose activities and character so much has been told in the article just mentioned.

A number of other interesting facts may be related in connection with the present sketch. The Matson family, which was founded in Northeast Missouri in 1816 by Richard and Enoch Matson, came here in company with the Benns and Fishers, and all of these names subsequently became prominent in the early history of Ralls and Pike counties.

As stated elsewhere, the first mill in Pike county was the one built on Peno creek by Enoch Matson. Its wooden dam was built upon a burr oak foundation. Long years after every vestige of the mill had disappeared, our subject dug up portions of the burr oak foundation, still in a fine state of preservation, and canes and other ornaments were made from these pioneer timbers and are now the cherished possessions of those who appreciate the significance of such relics and have regard for the splendid labors of those who in pioneer times laid the foundation of civilization in this wilderness. Speaker Champ Clark received a cane and gavel wrought from this old foundation timber, as a gift from Mr. Alfred P. Matson, and acknowledged them in a manner characteristic of this eloquent Missouri statesman.

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A history of northeast Missouri, Vol. 2 pt 2, Part 18

Author: Williams, Walter, 1864- , ed Publication date: 1913 Publisher: Chicago, New York, The Lewis publishing company Number of Pages: 912

Author: Williams, Walter, 1864- , ed
Publication date: 1913
Publisher: Chicago, New York, The Lewis publishing company
Number of Pages: 912